CHAPTER 2: AFFIsCTED riiNVtKONMKNT 



The ten species are: marten, otter, fisher, mink, wolverine, bobcat, lynx, northern swift fox, muskrat, and 

 beaver. Except the northern swift fox and lynx, all these species may be taken by licensed trappers 

 according to regulations approved by the FWP Commission. 



Predators. The predator designation is confusing because the term refers to both a legally defined list of 

 animals as well as an ecologically functional group of animals. State law lists the coyote, red fox, weasel, 

 skunk, and civet cat (spotted skunk) as predators (87-2-101, MCA). Ecologically speaking, predators 

 generally kill other animals to secure food. Under this ecological definition, several mammals function as 

 predators but are legally designated as furbearers: bobcat, lynx, wolverine, swift fox, otter, mink, marten 

 and fisher. Others arc legally defined as game animals (black bear, mountain lion), nongame wildlife (red 

 fox, raccoon, badger), or threatened and endangered species (grizzly bear, black-footed ferret). 



Control of legally classified predators (e.g. coyote, skunk) is assigned to MDOL and carried out by WS. 

 However, WS also controls some game animals (bears and mountain lions) causing livestock damage 

 under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MDOL and FWP. 



Nongame Wildlife, Endangered Species, and Species of Special Concern. FWP's wildlife program has 

 emphasized management of game and furbearer species over nongame. The Nongame and Endangered 

 Species Conservation Act (87-5-101, MCA) expanded FWP's authority in 1973 to include nongame and 

 endangered species. More than 85% of the bird and mammal species in Montana are classified as 

 nongame. FWP has the authority to declare certain nongame species as being "in need of management" 

 and to develop and adopt management plans. 



The Montana Natural Heritage Program oversees an ongoing inventory of animals that are rare, 

 threatened, endangered, or believed to be vulnerable to extirpation (Reichel 1996). FWP also maintains a 

 current listing of wildlife species of special concern. The list includes amphibians, reptiles, birds, and 

 mammals and appears in Appendix 2. Of these, seven species are classified as threatened or endangered 

 by federal statute. Montana law does not include a "threatened" status, but four species are listed as 

 endangered under state statute (Appendix 2). 



Other. Other statutorily defined wildlife species are classified as Upland Game Birds (grouse, turkey, 

 pheasant, partridge. Section 87-2-101 MCA) and Migratory Game Birds (ducks, geese, swans, doves, 

 snipe; 87-2-101, MCA). 



Wolf - Prey Relationships 



Montana's recovered wolves are returning to a highly modified environment and a managed system 

 where success, like the success of other major predators like mountain lions and even human hunters, 

 depends on the productivity and perpetuation of deer, elk, and moose populations. As a result, a primary 

 public concern is the effect of predators on prey populations. This EIS cannot provide a comprehensive 

 summary of predator-prey interactions or the effects of wolf predation on ungulate populations. 

 However, some of the scientific literature reviewed for this EIS is included as a partial bibliography in the 

 Montana Wolf Conservation and Management Planning Document (Appendix I). 



All wildlife populations vary through time and across a diversity of habitats and are influenced by a 

 variety of ever changing environmental factors. Published literature on predator-prey interactions is 

 highly varied in its conclusions about the ability of predators to influence prey populations or vice versa. 

 There have been nearly as many different interpretations of predator-prey interactions as there have been 

 studies. Predators and prey interact with one another within their unique habitats, through seasonal 

 weather patterns, among an array of species and animal densities, and within different wildlife 

 management frameworks. Each published report, therefore, must be inteipreted within the context of the 



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